Echo chamber


What is history? An echo of the past in the future, a reflex from the future on the past. 
–Victor Hugo


I am wondering if our time in self-isolation and quarantine has become something of an echo chamber. You know. We are stuck with a handful of folks, and we watch or listen to the same news over and over again. We tend to believe what we believe—with even greater fervor.

Which is fine—unless the things you are reinforcing fly in the face of Truth.

Listening to people tell their stories, when it all seems so alien to what you’ve experienced, is really hard, especially when their life narrative makes me out to be part of the problem. Ouch.

Here is where we are. Following the deaths of George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, and so many more, white people are [again] being confronted with our privilege. But this time, it almost seems different, doesn’t it?

This time, it feels like maybe change is gonna come. But we need to do our homework. And we need to prepare to have our hearts broken, over and over, until finally there is room for Love enough to change the world we live in. And by that, I mean my very own neighborhood. (Anything beyond that may be beyond my scope right now. But I can change my heart.)

As we go through these next weeks and beyond, pay attention. Don’t try to ignore the pain. Allow your heart to hurt and break. Listen. Learn. Accept that you may have had “it” wrong all along. It is never too late to get “it” right. But you have to want to. And you have to try.


Monday What do you know about your ancestors? What artifacts from your past do you have? Genesis 21:8-13 

Tuesday Every family tells stories of their heroes, the folks who changed the world in their own way. Pause today and remember. Psalm 86:1-10

Wednesday Every family also has someone whose contributions might be swept under the rug. Who is yours? How much of their story do you know? Genesis 21:14-21

Thursday The Smithsonian has a letter written by a Black man who lived in Tulsa during the 1921 Greenwood Massacre. Make time to read and digest. Psalm 69:16-18

Friday Do you have a family photo album from your formative years? Look through the pictures. See the people. See yourself. What do you see? Jeremiah 20:7-13

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, ask for open, honest eyes to see. Let God show you ways you can become involved in BLM. (You don’t have to go out and protest.) Matthew 10:24-31

Sunday We worship a God of many colors. We proclaim to be one in the Family of Christ. Meditate on this Truth and let it filter through your prayers into your daily living. Matthew 10:32-39


Ring the bells that still can ring! Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. 
That’s how the Light gets in. --Leonard Cohen


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